Grid wire for bottle crates



Feb. 7, 1933.

7 N. H; HALL GRID WIRE FOR BOTTLE CRATES File d Oct. 7, 1929 I'I'I'I'IIII'IIIIIII iNVENTOR HALL Nevm H,

ATTORNEY/ Patented Feb. 7, 1933 NEVIK H. EALL, OF YORK, -IE'IEN'IB'I'SYLVAIN'IA GRID WIRE FOB BOTTLE GBATES .lppllcatlon-fledootober 7, 1929. Serial No. 398,056.

The present invention relates to im rovements in bottle crates of the class emp oylng grid wires extending between the sides or ends of the crate and forming supportmgor separating means for the bottles and the pnmary object of the invention is to rovlde novel and improved means for securing the grid wires to the sides and ends of the crate whereb the o rations of applying and securing these wir es in the manufacture of the crate and of removin and replacing these wires during repair 0 the crate are greatly facilitated and rendered less expenslve than heretofore.

The grid wires of bottle crates have heretofore been usuall applied to crates of th1s class by driving them through holes in the side and end strips or walls of the crate, one end of the wire having a head swaged or otherwise formed thereon, and after the wire was in place, its opposite end has been upset or swaged into a head by a sp nnmg machine, this operation and the equipment required being expensive, and inorder to replace one or more of the side or end strips or to otherwise repair the crate, it has been necessa to grind, out or otherwise remove the bee on one end of the wire to permit its removal, th1s operation bein not only difiicult and expensive but also estroying the further useful.- ness of the grid wire so that it must be replaced by a new one. Furthermore, crates of this class as heretofore constructed have required complete assembling by the manufacturer and shipment in completed form, due

to the dificulties of securing the grid wires and the expensiveness of the apparatus required.

The present invention obviates these disadvantages heretofore experienced in the manufacture and repair of such crates. It enables the grid wires to be easily inserted into position and then locked by the simple operation of forcing its headless end into a headed sleeve which becomes removably secured thereon, the assembling of the crate being thus simplified so that it can be performed with ordinary tools so that the crates can be shipped in knockdown form and assembled by the user, and it enables the grid wires to be easily and quickly removed by siiplply detaching the removable sleeve from e headless end of the wire, thereby permitting removal of the wires without impairing the reuse thereof after the damaged strip of the crate has been replaced.

The present invention also enables the grid wires to be applied so that they will be under the pro er tension, undue pulling of the heads 0 the grid wires against the sides and ends of the crates, which are usually of wood, as frequently experienced with grid wires as heretofore used and which tend to split or otherwise damage such strips of the crate being avoided. v

To these and other ends, the invention conslsts in certain improvements as will be here inafter more fully set forth, the features of novelty being pointed out particularly in the claims at the end of the s cification.

In the accompanying rawing:

Fig. 1 represents a vertical section taken transversely through a bottle crate, showin glrld wires applied thereto in accordance wit t e present invention;

Fig. 2 represents a section taken horizontally through one corner of the crate and substantially in the plane of the grid wires which form the lower separating partitions for the bottles;

Fig. 3 is a detail view on an enlarged scale, showing in section a portion of a wall'of the crate and the detachable sleeve therein, and showing the headless end of a grid wire secured in the sleeve;

Fig. 4 is a detail view of the sleeve shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an end view of the sleeve shown in Fig. 4 as viewed from the right hand end thereof; 90

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing a grid wire secured in a sleeve of somewhat modified form;

Fig. 7 is a detail view of the sleeve shown in Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is an end view of the sleeve shown in Fig. 7 as viewed from the right hand end thereof.

I The present invention is ap licable enerally to bottle crates or the like emp oying transverse wires for supporting or separating the bottles or other articles therein, it being particularly applicable to bottle crates of the well lmown kind embodying wooden side and end walls either or .both of which are composed of superimposed wooden strips or slats. In the present instance, the invention is shown applied to a crate of this class embodying superimposed wooden side strips or slats 1 and superimposed wooden end strips 2, wires 3 extending longitudinally across thebottom of the crate and secured at their ends to the end walls thereof to form a bottom grid on which the bottles are adapted to rest and longitudinal and transverse wires 4' and '5 being extended between the ends and the sides of the crate and secured thereto to form partitions for separating the bottles, two sets of partition wires being shown in the present instance although it will be understood that a greater or less number of these sets of partition wires may be used. I

According to'the present invention, one side and one end wall of the crate are drilled to form holes 6 for the endwise insertion of the grid wires 4 and 5 and are counterbored at their outer sides as at 7 to receive heads 8 which are swaged or otherwise formed permanently on one end of each of these wires. The other side and end walls of the crate are drilled with holes 9 which arelarger than the grid wires, and these holes in the crate are adapted to receive sleeves or eyelets 10 which are adapted to be inserted into these holes from the outside of the-crate and have heads 11 on their outer ends which are adapted to seat in counterbores 12 which may be formed at the outer ends of the holes 9.

Each of the sleeves 10, which are preferably composed of steel or other suitable metal galvanized or otherwise treated to render them rustproof, comprises a tubular portion which has a cylindrical interior bore 13 extending axially therein and open at its inner end, this bore in the sleeve being slightly smaller than the diameter of the unheaded end of the grid wire, and this tubular portion of the sleeve is split for a suitable portion of its length, as by the diametrically opposite slots 14 so that the open end of the sleeve may expand when the unheaded end of the grid wire is forced. into it. Preferably, the slots 14 extend the full length of the tubular portion of the sleeve and terminate at the closed end of the opening 13 therein,"as shown, and the extremity of the grid wire, when 'forced fully into the sleeve, will be gripped solidly in the inner end of the split portion of the sleeve' The hole 9 in the wooden wall of'the crate which receives the sleeve preferably is somewhat smaller in diameter than the sleeve when the latter is unexpanded so that the sleeve may be driven into this hole, and as the sleeve is forced over the end of the grid wire and the sleeve is thereby expanded, the sleeve will be firmly secured in the hole 9 as well as secured frictionally on the end of the grid wire. In order to nonrotatably and more firmly secure the sleeve in said hole, the exterior of the sleeve may be of hexagonal or angular form as shown clearly n Fig. 5 so that it will present. angles on its exterior to non-rotatably grip the waljlflof the hole 9 which may be round or cylindrical in form. The outer end of the sleeve on which the flange or head 11' is formed preferably integral y by swaging or a like operation, is provided with a central hole 15 which extends into the wire-receiving bore 13 and is adapted to receive the end of a punch or drift for driving the grid wire out of the sleeve to permit removal of the grid wire.

In applying a grid wire and its securing sleeve to a crate, the unheaded endof the grid wire is passed 'endwise through the opening 6 in one wall of the crate and into the hole 9 in the opposite wall of the crate and a sleeve is inserted into the hole 9 from the outer side and is forced endwise on to the unheaded, cylindrical end of the grid wire projecting into the hole 9 as by driving the sleeve inwardy by striking its outer headed end by a. hammer or other suitable tool while the opposite headed end of the grid wire rests against a suitable support. As the end of the grid wire is forced into the split tubular portion of the sleeve, said portion is s 'read or expanded, thereby forcing the tu ular portion of the sleeve into gripping relation with the wall of the hole 9 and produci gripping engagement between t e sleeve and the grid wire,- and as the grid wire" further enters the sleeve, the wire will be firmly gri ped frictionally thereby against endwise wit drawal. The sleeve becomes immovabl and tightly fixed in the hole 9 when expand ed by the forcing of the sleeve over the end of the grid wire, this being accomplished by the simple operation of drlving the sleeve inwardly over the unheaded end of the 'd wire while the opposite or headed'en of the latter is held against movement. In order to remove the sleeve from the grid wire and thereby release the latter so that it can be removed from the crate, it is only necessary to insert a punch or drift through the hole 15 so that its end rests against the end of the grid wire within the sleeve and to strike the punch with a hammer to drive the grid wire out of the sleeve sufliciently to release the grip between the sleeve and grid wire, whereupon the head of the sleeve may be exposed at the outer side of the crate wall and gripped by pliers or any other suitable tool and thereby withdrawn from the hole 9 and the end of the grid wire, the latter being then released and free for endwise removal through the hole in the opposite wall of the crate. j

a frictional Figs. 6 to 8 inclusive illustrate a somewhat modified form of grid wire securing sleeve. In this instance, the sleeve 10 has a tubular portion which is cylindrical in exterior form and is of a diameter slightly greater than that of the cylindrical hole 9 in the wall of the crate into which it is to.be inserted, the tubular portion of the sleeve having diametrically opposite slots 14 which split it substantially for its full length so as to render it expansible, and rotation of the sleeve in the hold 9, when the sleeve is expanded in place, is prevented not only by the frictional engagement of the expanded sides of the tubular portion of the sleeve against the wall of the hole, but also by webs or ribs 15 a suitable number of which may extend diagonally between the outer side of the tubular body of the sleeve and the head or flange 11' on its outer end, a pair of these webs bein shown in the present instance, these webs being relatively thin and adapted to be driven into the wood of the crate between the hole or bore 9 and countersink 12 therein so that they will bite into 'the wood and thereby lock the sleeve against rotation. The sleeve shown in this instance may otherwise be like that shown in Figs. 3 to 5 in clusive and it may be applied and secured to the respective grid wire in the manner hereinbefore described, the outer end of the sleeve in this instance being provided with a bore or hole 16 extending am'ally therethrough and into the wire receiving hole and into which a punch, drift or other suitable tool may be inserted so that its inner end engages the end of the grid wire, and by driving against the punch when so placed, the grid wire may be driven out of the sleeve so that the latter and the grid wire may be removed from the crate.

Securing sleeves substantially as hereinbefore described may be used to removably secure the partition grid wires 4 and 5 in the crate, and they may also be used to'removably secure the bottom grid wires 3 within the crate. While each sleeve is being driven or forced into securing relation with its respective grid wire, it may be forced thereon tothe proper extent to impose the desired tension on the grid wire, insuring sufiicient tension on the grid wire to avoid looseness thereof and yet avoiding undue tension on the grid wire which would tend to draw the heads of the wire and sleeve too tightl against the opposed walls of the crate with the possible tendency of splitting the Wooden walls or strips thereof, especially when wet and swelled.

The present invention enables crates to be manufactured and shipped in knockdown form and afterward assembled easily and with facility by the user, since the grid wires can be easily inserted through the respective holes previously provided in the wooden walls of the crate and secured by forcing the removed in the manner hereinbefore described, and after a new strip or wall has been inserted in place of the broken one, the same grid wires may be reinserted and secured by rea plication of their securing sleeves, since t e removal of'the grid wires can be accomplished without damaging or otherwise impairing the usefulness of the grid wires or their securing sleeves. The larger holes formed in the crate wall to receive the securing sleeves facilitate the insertion of the grid wires since these holes are larger than the grid wires and render it unnecessary to drive the grid wires into place. In applying the invention to crates having sides or ends composed of superimposed wooden strips, any individual strip of a new or old crate can be removed without the necessity of removing any other strip, and a new strip may be inserted at a minimum expense. Since it is rendered unnecessary by the present invention to swage or rivet the end of the grid wire in order to secure it in place, the grid wires may be composed of spring steel wire instead of soft carbon steel as previously used, and by forming the wires of spring steel, they will maintain their shape within the crate, and their resiliency will serve to absorb any shocks in the handling of the crates and thereby minimize breakage of the bottles contained within and engaging the wires.

I claim as my invention 1. A grid wire for bottle crates having fastening means at one end and unheaded at its opposite end, and a securing member designed to be fixedly retained in a wall member of the crate and having a sleeve-like portion at one end to receive reciprocably and retain the unheaded end of said wire.

2. A grid wire for bottle crates having fastening means at one end and unheaded at its opposite end, and a securing member designed to be fixedly retained in a wall member of the crate and having a sleeve-like portion which is split longitudinally to receive reciprocably and frictionally grip the unheaded end of said wire.

3. A grid wire for bottle crates having fastening means at one end and unheaded at its opposite end, and a securing member designed to be fixedly retained in a wall member of the crate and having a sleeve-like portion the interior of which is smaller than said wire and which is split longitudinally and expansible to reciprocably receive and retain the unheaded end of said wire.

4. "grid wire for bottle crates having fastening means at one end and unheaded at 5 its opposite end, and a headed securing member designed to be inserted in a wall member of the crate and having a sleeve-like portion which is split longitudinally and has an interior openin to receive reci rocably and retain the un eaded end of said wire, said sleeve-like portion being expansible by the introduction of said wire therein to fixedly retain said securing member in the wall member of the crate.

I 5. A crate including a plurality of cross rods adapted to form cells, means attached to one end of said cross rods for securing said rods in position whereby the cross rods may be readlly detached from the crate, said 23 means comprising a stud having a central longitudinal opening adapted to frictionally engage the free ends of said cross rods.

6. A device for securing the end of cross rods in a crate which comprises a threadless 25 stud adapted to frictionally engage the free ,end of said cross rod.

7 In a crate, a round cross rod to extend thru a slat of the crate, a bushing to receive the round rod and to extend from the outside into an opposite slat of the crate so as .to expose the free end of the rod from the outside of the crate, whereby when it is desired to remove the rod this may be accomplished by driving the rod thru the bushing from the outside of the crate.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

NEVIN H. HALL. 

